Shooting Cats

Wednesday

Jan 30, 2013 at 8:36 AM

Stray cats are not targets for would be archers.

Shiela Rabe

Two cats have been wounded in Cando recently by someone using a type of dart gun. In the first instance a woman found one of the homeless cats she feeds daily on her doorstep with an arrow in it. The arrow was actually a metal and plastic bolt such as the type used with a crossbow designed for taking out gophers. Apparently one can pick up these weapons online or at some stores for under $20. They have a range of 20 yds. So either the idiot using this weapon has really poor aim or he (or she) was trying to just hurt the cat, not kill it. The bolt was imbedded three inches in the cat's hip. The lady took the poor animal out to the veterinary clinic immediatley where the bolt was removed. Thankfully no vital organs or blood vessels were involved and the cat is recovering nicely. In fact he was just adopted.

The second incident ocurred late last week. One of our Uffda Fund Board members is a woman who also feeds stray cats, and tries her darnedest to capture, spay/neuter and rehome these unfortunate critters; she noticed this semi wild red tabby kitten limping and leaving bloody footprints on her garage floor. She then found a bolt and realized someone had tried to shoot the cat. She called the Cando Police immediately and turned over the bolt as evidence. The cat seems to be OK and our board member is hopeful she can get her hands on this little one to get her into the Uffda rescue.

So, someone is shooting at cats. Why, you ask?? Is this someone who hates cats and has a grudge against strays? There is a city ordinance which states discharging a weapon is unlawful within city limits. But sometimes a blind eye is turned when homeowners want to keep critters out of their property. So in truth, is there much point in trying to find the shooter when its doubtful if there will be any consequences for shooting cats? Do we perhaps have a budding serial killer in the making, growing up to graduate from shooting critters to people? Maybe it's a couple of adolescents taking potshots. This is not a toy and cats are not paper targets. This is a dangerous weapon which could really cause severe injuries.

Uffda is warning pet owners to keep tabs on their cats if they are allowed outside, or better yet, keep Fluffy indoors.